WeCroak quote

A month ago or so, I heard about an app called “WeCroak“.  I think I heard about it on Dan Harris’s 10% Happier podcast or maybe it was Sam Harris’s Waking Up podcast .

For US$1 (one time fee), I get up to 5 messages a day that say “don’t forget…you’re going to die”.  It may sound pessimistic, but I find it positive.  It reminds me to take things lightly.  To not stress.  It reminds me that everything and everyone is impermanent.  It helps me live my life the way I want to live it.  It keeps me in the moment instead of the past or the future.

With those 5 messages, you can click to get a quote.  This is one of those quotes.

On a quilting note, I’ve agreed to teach a 2 day workshop in August so I’ve started doing a little more prep work for that.  I have the basics of the workshop already prepared as I did two demos last month on the same idea that I will be teaching.  I resisted for a long time – but I really did enjoy the demos so decided ‘why not’?  I’ll be teaching 6 simple improv blocks and then ideas for putting them together.  I’m billing it as a PLAYDATE with your scrap bag.  No stress.  No pressure.  No Quilt Police.  Just hang out with me for 2 days and sew.  I think it might be fun.

 

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Pema Chodron thoughts

Pema Chodron is another of my most favourite Buddhist writers and speakers.  I have at least 6 of her talks and many of her books.  I have said for a long time now that it is not safe to be a black man in the USA.  This is what Pema has to say about the current situation.
“It has finally really gotten through to me how dangerous it is to be black in America, especially for black men. It feels like Emmett Till all over again. Even in the case of Trayvon Martin, who was killed by a private citizen, I wonder ‘How could it be that George Zimmerman was not convicted of any crime?’ As this systemic oppression is seen over and over again in full sight with no justice, it is not surprising that there will be violent reactions such as the tragic shooting of 12 innocent police in Dallas.

If parents of black children have to teach them how to behave with police so they won’t get killed, there is something wrong with this picture. This situation is deeply disturbing to most Americans, including most police officers.

In the US, racial injustice has been going on since the days of slavery. But what is different now, is that the videos of the murders are there for all to see, and white people can no longer ignore what is going on. I am one of them. I don’t know what the solutions are. In fact, anything I would come up with I am already hearing from Black Lives Matter, Dallas Police Chief David Brown, and others, but there has got to be a way for us to move toward justice for all these victims of endemic racism.

The root problem is fear and hatred and how this escalates, which is where my kind of teachings could be useful. I am committed to continue to help where I can.”
~Pema Chödrön

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